AWWA-20661 The Water Workforce: Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining High-Performance Employees
The most
important resources at any utility are human resources. People make all the
difference in the success or failure of your utility’s operation. Managing
utility workforce issues is the focus of this practical handbook for water
utility human resources managers.
The
Water Workforce: Recruiting & Retaining High-Performance Employees examines the
special human resource challenges facing utilities and offers tested strategies
to address them. It will help you recruit, train, motivate, and retain high-quality
employees—and build a stable and productive workforce that will meet the short-
and long-term needs of your utility. The book focuses on the specific technical
work needs of utilities and how to successfully apply workforce management
principles in a water utility environment. The book discusses workforce planning methodology, recruiting, and retention,
and presents a comprehensive approach to workforce improvement and
organizational capacity building. It outlines four workforce development
processes:
• Defining the organization’s work processes
• Recruiting
• Capacity building
• Retention and succession planning
Utilities can implement effective solutions to workforce problems with a
planned approach to organization and work design, followed by action to improve
the capacity of individual employees and their units, and ultimately, the whole
organization. Although all utilities face workforce management issues, there
are considerable differences between large and small utilities. This book addresses
the needs of both with strategies to apply workforce management principles in
even the smallest utility. Contents:
1. Workforce Challenges and Strategies for Success
2. Jobs in Water and Wastewater Utilities
3. A Strategic Approach to Workforce Planning
4. Utilities as Employers of Choice
5. Organization Change and Workforce Development
6. Job Analysis and Position Descriptions
7. Recruiting and Selecting Your Workforce
8. Work Planning and Performance Evaluation
9. Learning Organizations and Knowledge Management
10. Training and Development Programs
11. Employee Retention
12. Succession Management
13. Solutions for Smaller Utilities
The book includes several appendices, including general
competencies for water and wastewater jobs, utility positions in AWWA’s
compensation study, occupational data on technical positions, a model training
program for utilities, and a comprehensive listing of major water associations
in the US that can be used as a resource for recruiting and training.
ISBN: 9781583216088
Author: Neil S. Grigg, PhD, PE, Mary Zenzen
Publisher: American Water Works Association
Publication date: 2009
AWWA catalog no: 20661
Media Type: Hardback
Number of pages: 228